Hinged box and method of assembly



p 13, 1932- M. PARTIOT 31mm) BOX AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 20,1950 Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNE'TED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAURICEPARTIOT, or rA'rERsoN, NEW JERSEY HINGED BOX AND MET OD or ASSEMBLYApplication filed January 20, 1930. 'SeriaI No. 422,033.

hinge parts together without further manipulationor use of tools.

Heretofore, one of the simplest and cheapest methods of hinging a coverto a'metal or 19 other box has been to form hinge knuckles on the box,one or both of which knuckles are spread or cut open to receiveoppositely extending pivots on the cover, and are then bent back orfolded over the pivotsto hold them in place. .Whether the hinge knucklesare opened lengthwise or sidewise, an extra operation is required toclose the open edges through which the pivots are inserted. This extraoperation requires precision, and sometimes weakens the hinge structureso that it will open up subjected to strain.

My invention is an improvement over previous box hinges and methods ofassembly in that it entirely eliminates the step of closing 5 the hingeknuckles after the pivots on the cover are inserted therein, and thusmakes the step of bringing the parts together the final operation. Thisreduces the number of forming operations, simplifies the assembling andmaterially reduces the over-all-cost of manufacture. V

In carrying out the invention I form oppositely extending hinge pivotsonthe cover, preferably by cutting out and curling the metal along oneedge. The box portion is stamped .to provide a pair of spaced bulbularhinge knuckles with openend's facing each other, but with theirremaining sides closed and merging into the box portion, and alongitudinal slot is out about half way throughone hinge knuckle fromits open end. There are several methods of assembling the parts.Accordingto the .preferred method, the cover is inverted and oneof the rhinge pivots is inserted in the slotted knuckle on the box portion sothat the metal edge directly under this pivot slips into the slot insaid knuckle. This telescoping action permits the opposite hinge pivotto register with the opening in the other knuckle and to with the'coverclosed;

be inserted therein by aslight canting movement in a direction towithdraw the metal edge from the slot in-the first knuckle, thussecurely locking the hinge parts together so that they are free to pivotwithout danger of accidental detachment. I

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which: I

F 1g. 1 is a rear view of my improved box p with the cover detached andshown in section with the hinge pivots in position for insertion in theknuckles on the box portion;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing'the'first step in securing the cover tothe box Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the box assembled with thecover in open position;

Fig. 4: is a perspective view of the assembled box showing the positionof the hinges Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 55 ofFig. 2 showing the hinge pivot on the cover enteringthe slotted knucklon the box'portion; Y V Fig. 6 is a fragmentarysection taken on the line6-6 of Fig. 4 showing the position of the hinge parts with the coverclosed;

Fig. '7 is a section similar to Fig. ,5,but showing a different methodof assembly;

Fig. 8 is a rear view, partly in section, showing amodified form ofhinge;

' Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section showing the cover of Fig. 8 ininverted position;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectionshowing a nodified form of cooperatinghinge parts; an I Fig. 11 is a similar section showing still anotherform of the invention.

The box shown in Fig. 1 comprises acup shaped box portion 1 of anydesired shape, preferably made of thin sheet metal, and a cover 2 havingthe usual flange 3 adapted to overlap the edge of the box when in closedposition. I

Thelrear wall of the boxportion is stamped to provide a centraldepression 4 and hinge I knuckles 5 and 6, respectively, on oppositesides of said depression to receive oppositely extending hinge pintles 7and 8 onthe cover. The hinge knuckles 5 and 6 are in-the form of raisedbulbs having open ends facing each other, and their remaining sidesclosed and merging into the box portion. One of these knuckles ispreferably longer than the other, the knuckle here being shown twice aslong as the knuckle 6.

, The flange 3 of, the cover has a central. section 9 slightly higherthan the rest of the flange and in the same general location as thedepression 4: in the boX portion. The hinge pintles 7 and 8 arepreferably'formed by undercutting the opposite ends of this raisedsection at so that the pintles par tially overhang the recesses orcut-out portions 10. The metal co-extensive with the pintles 7 and 8 isthen fluted inwardly of the cover to form a continuous ridge ofsubstantially semi-circular cross section which will pivot in thedepression 1 of the box portion after the cover is attached. I

A slot 11 is cut lengthwise in the metal preferably at the bottom of theelongated hinge knuckle 5 and transverse to the opening in the end ofsaid knuckle, and is just wide enough to receive the single thickness ofthin flat metal 12 at the inner edge of the recess 10 immediately belowthe hinge pintle 7. The slot 11 preferably extends about halfv thelength of the knuckle 5 and hence does notimpair the strength orrigidity of the knuckle.

In order to assemble the cover on the box portion the parts may be heldas shown in Fig. 1 with the cover inverter so that when the pintle 7 isslipped into the knuckle 5 the edge of the flat metal 12 under thepintle will be exactly in line with the slot 11. In this position thepintle 7 is inserted in the knuckle 5, by a relative movement betweenthe cover and box portion, thereby guiding the flat metal 12telescopically into the slot 11 until it strikes against the edge of theslot 11, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. lVith the parts in this limitingposition the cover is tipped or canted upwardly as indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2, bringing the pintle 8 into alignment with the knuckle6, and is then moved to the right as viewed in Fig. 2 so that the pintle8 enters the knuckle 6, at the same time completely withdrawing the flatmetal 12 from the slot 11 as shown in Fig. 3. The cover is thus lockedsecurely on the box portion with the pintles 7 and 8 pivoting in theknuckles 5 and 6, respectively, and may be freely moved to the closedposition. shown in Fig. 41. The device can be taken apart by reversingthe sequence of operations.

Fig. 7 shows an alternative method of assembling the box and coverillustrated in Fig. 1. Since the metal of the curved pintle 7 is of thesame single thickness as the flat metal 12, this pintle may be workedthrough the slot 11 in the box portion by first inserting thelongitudinal edge of the pintle in the ('3 slot and then canting orcurling it through the slot into the knuckle 5. To assemble the parts inthis manner they are held as shown in Fig. 1. The pintle 8 is firstinserted in the knuckle 6 as far as it will go, so that the end ofpintle 7 will be opposite the slot 11 at the bottom of the knuckle 5.The edge of pintle 7 is next inserted in the slot 11, the cover 2 beingtipped upwardly as shown in Fig. 7, and is then curled through the slotby canting the cover in the direction of the arrow, completing theassembly. Regardless of the method of assembly, accidental detachment isprevented because the pintle 7, being substantially semi-circular incross section, will not pass through the slot 11 except when speciallymanipulated as previously described. I 1

Figs. 8 and 9 show a modification of the invention in which the hingepintles on the cover are formed by a wire 13 clamped in place by theraised section 9 of the flange 3 which is doubled over the wire sothatits ends stand out. In this modification the overlapping portion ofthe metal 9 is cut away at the end adjacent the fiat metal 12, as shownin Fig. 9, leaving only the single thickness of metal 12 to be insertedin the slot 11. The method of assembly is the same as in Fig. 2.

In the modification shown in Fig. 10 the slot 11 is at the top of thehinge knuckle 5 instead of at the bottom, and the hinge pintle 7 iscurled outwardly of the cover instead of inwardly as in Fig. 5. Themethod of assembly is analogous to Fig. 7, the edge of the pintle 7being inserted lengthwise in the slot 11 and then curved through theslot by closing the cover as indicated by the arrow.

In the modification shown in Fig. 11 the slot 11 is at the top of thehinge knuckle 5, but the hinge pintle 7 is curved inwardly as in Figs. 1to 7. The method of assembly is by curling the pintle 7 through the slot11, and therefore the recess or cut out portion 10 below the pintle issomewhat deeper than in the forms previously described so that it willfit over the knuckle 5. If the cut out portion 10 were not deep enoughto span the knuckle 5 the flange 3 of the cover would strike against theknuckle and prevent the pintle 7 from entering the slot 11. Also, theinner longitudinal edge 14 of the pintle 7 is preferably flattened, .asshown, to facilitate its entry into the slot 11. When the edge 14 isinserted in the slot 11 the cover is canted upwardly, thus curling thepintle into the knuckle 5.

It will be evident that the invention is capable of various othermodifications and adaptations not specifically described but includedwithin the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A hinged boX comprising a section having two fluted hinge pivots ofsubstantially circular cross section adjacent one edge, and a secondsection having two spaced hinge Ill fadj acent one edge, and anothersection having two spaced hinge knuckles with open ends facing eachother, one of said knuckles having a longitudinal slot extending partway inwardly from its open end narrower than the cooperating hinge pivotbut wide enough to telescope with the edge of the first mentionedsection when the pivot adjacent said. edge is inserted into the open endof said knuckle.

3. A hinged box comprising a section having two oppositely extendinghinge pivots adjacent one edge and another section having two hingeknuckles of unequal lengths with open ends facing each other, said openends being closer together than the ends of the respective hinge pivots,and a longitudinal slot in the longer hinge knuckle extending part wayinwardly from its open end to receive the edge of the first mentionedsection when the pivot adjacent said edge is inserted into the open endof said knuckle, thereby permitting the opposite pivot to be fitted intothe shorter hinge knuckle.

4. A hinged box comprising a cover having two oppositely extending hingepivots adjacent one edge, and a box portion having two hinge knuckles ofunequal lengths with open ends facing each other and with their othersides closed and merging into said box portion, the open ends of saidknuckles being closer together than the ends of the respective hingepivots, and a longitudinal slot extending part way through the bottomedge of the longer hinge knuckle from the open end thereof to receivethe edge of the cover when the pivot adjacent said edge is inserted intothe open end of said knuckle, thereby permitting the opposite pivot tobe fitted into the shorter hinge knuckle.

5. A hinged metal box comprising a section having two projecting hingeknuckles with open ends facing each other, another section havingoppositely extending hinge pivots adapted to be inserted in said hingeknuckles and having recesses below said pivots to span the outer facesof said hinge knuckles, and a slot extending transversely outwardly fromthe open end of one hinge knuckle narrower than the maximum thickness ofthe cooperating hinge pivot but wide enough to telescope with the edgeof one of said recesses when the adjacent pivot is inserted in the openend of said knuckle, thereby permitting the opposite pivot to be movedlongitudinally into the open end of the other hinge knuckle by arelative canting move ment between the two box sections to lock bothhinge pivots in the respective knuckles.

6. A hinged box comprising a section having a portion of its edge formedto provide two oppositely extending hinge pintles of curved crosssection, and another section having two projecting hinge knuckles withopen ends facing each other to hold said pintles and a slot extendingtransversely out- Wardly from the open end of one hinge knuckle narrowerthan the maximum thickness of the cooperating pintle but wide enough toadmit said pintle when canted edgewise therethrough.

7. A hinged metal box comprising a section having a portion of its edgerolled to provide two oppositely extending hinge pintles ofsubstantially semi-circular cross section, and another section havingtwo projecting hinge knuckles with open endsfacing .each other to holdsaid pintles, one of said hinge knuckles having a longitudinal slotcommunicating with its open end narrower than the maximum thickness ofthe cooperating pintle but Wide enough to admit said pintle when cantededgewise therethrough.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 17th day of January A. D., 1930.

MAURICE PABTIOT.

